Child of Eden
at the very least, a visual experience
By brian on: June 28, 2011s
The following review was submitted by Jared Chadwick of the Gamechurch Faction.
At its core, Child of Eden is by definition a game. All the mechanics are there, all the typical trappings you’d expect to find, but more than that Child of Eden is an experience. And in some ways that mindset has held Q? Entertainment’s new game back, but it’s also made Child of Eden something everyone should see, even if they don’t play it.
Anyone who played Q?’s similar game Rez on the PS2 will recognize CoE almost instantly. It’s a direct spiritual sequel to the trippy puzzle shooter of yore. But where Rez’s visuals focused on geometric landscapes with sharp angles with Tron like architecture, CoE has organic, lush visuals that grow and bloom around you as you sweep through the drastically changing worlds and unlock copious amounts of extra content. It’s something that’s as amazing to see as it is to play, as gorgeous scenery passes you by and strange creatures like ghost whales and phoenixes made of fire make their way across and through your path. It’s crazy to be certain, but you’ll certainly take damage at some point from being distracted by the scenery.
Anyone who hasn’t played Q?’s previous game in the series maybe be left scratching their head when they first witness CoE, but the premise is simple. Far into the future, the internet is a 3D space. What it boils down to is you’re trying to save digital nature from computer viruses by locking on to targets with homing missiles and tracer gun fire. Nature is personified as a woman named Lumi, and at the beginning of the game her “garden” has been stripped bare. Your menu is an empty space with planets representing each stage orbiting Lumi, and as you play through each world you earn rewards like purified creatures and scenery that slowly begins to fill your home screen and bring Lumi’s world back to life. Considering there are only 5 worlds at around ten minutes each, it’s a nice incentive to go back through the levels multiple times. There is also a challenge mode and plenty of pictures and movies to unlock as well, so if you’re a completionist, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth here.
One of the big selling points for CoE is the fact that it’s designed to work with the Kinect and later this year, the Move. It manages to pull this off surprisingly well and allows you to use your right hand to lock on and your left as tracer fire. My biggest issue, as you might guess, is with the lag, and the Kinect also seems to get a bit squirrelly on occasion when you try to quickly switch from one hand to another. It works well enough to use if you prefer, but it didn’t do much to sway me away from using the controller.
My biggest complaint, however, is the game’s artificial difficulty. Make no mistake, CoE is a challenging game. The problem is a complete lack of checkpoints, so any time you die you’ll be starting all over. The issue is compounded by unclear indicators as to where or how far away enemy projectiles are, and even the indicators themselves can be hard to see at times. Due to the heavily visual nature of the game, it’s one of the few I’d actually say could benefit on a gameplay level from 3D. Q? is no stranger to Nintendo, so maybe we’ll get a portable incarnation in the future.
Child of Eden isn’t a bad game, it’s just almost too novel for its own good. If Q? had put as much effort into the gameplay as they did in creating a gorgeous playground of visuals and sounds, this game could have easily stood as a potential game of the year. But where it stands now is a fun, unique experience that everyone should at least see, even if they don’t play it.
